Elias Canetti was a cosmopolitan par excellence. He experienced the affinities between cultures and the diversity of their forms at an early age. He worked on the basic urges of human development and wrote historical analyses on mass and power. His biography links a number of cities in Europe, all of which he describes as homes and basic stations in his intellectual development – where he educated himself through their spirit and spiritlessness. These cities include Rousse, Manchester, Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt...

Together with authors like Hermann Broch and Robert Musil, Elias Canetti was one of the founders of Cultural Studies in Europe. Both his artistic and his theoretical work draw on his knowledge of humankind and humanity, place human life as the highest good and set the guidelines for new structures of thinking on peace. With his theoretical work he created a group of definitions, a set of tools with which he wanted to "grab the century by the throat", defying the evils of power and domination, war and murder.

In the course of the EU expansion and the associated cultural integration and maintenance of diversity, Canetti’s work is becoming increasingly significant for the development of a society of responsibility and the discussion of values.

The International Elias Canetti Society (IECG) was founded in Rousse, Elias Canetti’s birthplace, in 1992. The society’s central objectives include researching Canetti’s work, promoting European integration processes and aiding in the building of civil society structures in post-Communist Bulgaria. The society’s varying activities cover four main areas: promotion of culture, cultural dialogue, political education and scholarship. The society publishes its own series of proceedings (Röhrig Verlag, Germany), a bilingual magazine for trans-disciplinary Cultural Studies and other literary series in Bulgarian.

Under the management of the International Elias Canetti Society, the Canetti Year marked the hundredth anniversary of Canetti’s birth in 2005. Since 2005, the IECG has worked with the local and regional authorities on an institutional basis: maintenance of the "Austrian Elias Canetti Library" in conjunction with the Austrian Embassy; employment of a cultural manager as the IECG’s Programme Director in conjunction with the Robert Bosch Foundation; award of a National "Elias Canetti Prize for Literature by the City of Rousse".

In 2005, the Elias Canetti Centre opened its doors in the centre of Rousse, run and initiated by the International Elias Canetti Society. The Elias Canetti Centre houses the "Austrian Elias Canetti Library", seminar rooms and an exhibition space. The rooms are finding increasing use by local and international initiatives, youth groups and students for their events and international meetings.

The International Elias Canetti Society is also planning to set up an international cultural, academic and documentation centre in the Canetti family’s former company building. To enable the realisation of this project, the Bulgarian state awarded the building to the society by decree. Due to a judicial dispute over the unclarified ownership of the building, however, the project faces delays. However, the building is still used as an alternative event location, and is increasingly developing into a forum for contemporary art, literature and performance.

Penka Angelova, Timo Köster


HALMA grant holder Daniel Goetsch wrote about his stay at the Elias Canetti Center. His essay is available in the European Library of the HALMA network.